I forgot that it’s Monday so here’s my late post

“It’s Monday! What are you reading?” is a weekly event hosted by Sheila at Bookjourneyto share with others what we’ve read the past week and planning to read next.

Currently…

Yes, I forgot that it’s Monday! So the day is nearly over. The husband took Friday off to have an extra long weekend and boy it’s been a busy one. It’s my Mum’s birthday today and we are so very lucky that she is here to celebrate it with us. Happy Birthday! We got her this yummy lemon berry torte from Amia Bakery, a dress, an album of photos of the kids, Haruki Murakami’s Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage.

Since it was the Labor Day weekend, we took a couple of day trips around the Bay Area. On Saturday, we drove south to Monterey for an early lunch and then down the Pacific Coast Highway to the Big Sur. It’s always such a gorgeous drive, with the ocean on the right and some lovely bridges to cross. Bixby Bridge is in the photo below. Then a stop at Big Sur Bakery for a rest and some pastries.

The next day, we decided to go north, up to Emeryville (home of Pixar) for dim sum at Hong Kong East Ocean, which has a great view of both the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge, which you can sort of make out in the distance to the right, near those hills.

Then to Tilden Park in Berkeley to ride the miniature steam trains! There are two trains, one run by the Golden Gate Live Steamers, a model railroading club. And the other, I guess is run by the park itself? Both were so very cute and lots of fun for kids and adults!

For DiversiverseThe Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Eight – edited by Jonathan Strahan

A great collection!

Together Tea – Marjan Kamali

Eating:

Birthday cake! Yum. I’m usually a chocolate chocolate chocolate cake person but my Mum isn’t fond of chocolate so I was surprised to find myself liking this one.

Drinking:

Green tea. I have green tea every afternoon and something feels off if I skip a cup!

Watching:

The Great British Bake Off. Yes I adore this show. And I really enjoy reading Stuck In A Book’s recaps every week (although please note that there will be spoilers!). Such fun! Although I was puzzled by the use of the word ‘fondant’ in the dessert episode – to me fondant is that paste used for decorating cakes, but here, fondant meant more of a flowing pudding. Here’s one example of a chocolate fondant pudding with lime syrup and coconut custard (ok that sounds amazing!)

Last week…

was a not-so-good week for finishing books. The 16-month-old wasn’t napping very well, crying through most of his afternoon naps. He only had a successful afternoon nap ONCE! He still does kind of need his morning nap too as he dozes off easily in the car/stroller when we go out. Sigh.

But somehow, somehow, I managed to get him to sleep today. HOORAY!!! I hope this bodes well for the rest of the week, especially since Wee Reader goes back to preschool on Wednesday.

So I managed to finish Ruin and Rising last week. the third book in The Grisha series by Leigh Bardugo.

And Zone One by Colson Whitehead, which hopefully I will write about for Diversiverse in a couple of weeks.